SOLOMONS AREA

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22473, 7 January 1943, Page 3

SOLOMONS AREA

High Positions Taken

By Telegraph—N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright LONDON, January 5.

United States troops have attacked and captured high positions four miles south of the Henderson airfield on Guadalcanal. Japanese counter-attacks were repulsed. The occupation of these heights will prevent enemy shelling of the airfield.

The United States communique reporting this success states: “Our troops on Guadalcanal attacked and gained high ground positions in the vicinity of Mount Austen, capturing an enemy field piece. Six enemy counterattacks were repulsed and 150 Japanese were killed. Patrols in other sectors killed 20 additional Japanese and captured howitzers, mortars, and light machine-guns. “Catalinas and Flying Fortresses on Monday executed a series of air attacks on the Munda area, in New Georgia. The same evening divebombers. escorted by fighters, bombed anti-aircraft positions, taxi-ways, and runways in the same area. The results are not reported. All our aeroplanes returned.” Japanese Force Attacked The Secretary to the United States Navy (Colonel Frank Knox) said in Washington that American aircraft and torpedo-boats surprised a Japanese naval force near the Solomons on Saturday and possibly sank two of them. He said that the Japanese were •still without supplies. Three out of 10 enemy destroyers taking supplies there had been damaged. The Washington correspondent of the “New York Times” points out that the eight destroyers recently atttacked by American tropedo-boats obviously were not part of the . two groups bombed near Shortland and Redova Island-;. The fact that the Solomons are apparently swarming with Japanese destroyers is interpreted in Washington as an indication that the- Japanese may be preparing for another major attempt t,o drive the American forces from the south-east Solomons.